Syringe container and ejector



Patented Aug. 8, 1933 UNITED sures PATENT OFFICE SYRINGE CONTAINER AND EJECTOR Norman 0. La Marche, Detroit, Mich.

Application October 31, 1931. Serial No. 572,417

4 Claims. (01. 128-218) My invention relates to enclosing and actuating members for syringes and particularly to a closure member which entirely encompasses a syringe of the standard, well known type and which 5 is provided with actuating means for projecting the syringe needle from the end of the member.

The main objects of my invention are to prov vide a closure for a syringe which forms a sanitary carrying case therefor; to support the syringe in the closure in such manner as to be movable therein; to provide actuating mechanism for advancing thesyringe relative to the case to project the needle from the end thereof; to provide a closure for end of case which is adjustable for regulating the depth to which the needle penetrates and provided with sealing means which closes the opening after the needle is retrieved; to provide means for sterilizing the needle each time the syringe is employed; to provide an extension on the casing for encom passing the plunger of a syringe when in extended position so as to prevent the patient from observing the movement of the operators finger as the plunger is advanced in the syringe; and in general to provide an enclosing member for a syringe which is effective for constituting a carrying case for the syringe; for sterilizing the syringe needle and for adminstering a hypodermic without shocks or fright to a patient, or to oneself when self administered.

Other objects and features of novelty of my inventionwill be either specifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for a better understanding of my invention, to the following description-in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a plan view of anenclosing and actuating member for a syringe that embodies features of my invention,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, taken on the line 2-2 thereof with the needle in retrieved position and the cover on the end portion of the member in ;.carrying position,

Fig. 3 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 with the cap removed and the syringe needle in advanced position and the the barrel of the syringe,

Fig. 4 is an-enlarged view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, taken on the line 4-4 thereof,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, taken on the line 55 thereof, and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged broken view of one end plunger projected into ofthe structure, illustrated in Figs.-1, 2 and 3,

showing the adjustable closure member therefor.

Various-types of structure have been utilized in the'past for supporting a syringe in a position to be advanced when a spring is released, so as to effect the insertion of the needle of the syringe into the intramuscular portion of a patient's body to alleviate the pain and fear which has customarily been present when the needle was manually inserted into the flesh. While the prior construction has proven more or less successful, my present invention advances the art of effecting a subcutaneous injection in the nature of a hypodermic by embodying additional, new and novel features such for example as utilizing the structure for entirely enclosing the syringe to form a carrying case therefor, to provide an adjustable end through which the needle passes for sterilizing it each time it is inserted into the muscular tissue, and to provide sealing means for closing the opening of the element after the syringe has been moved to retrieve position.

A further novel feature of my construction is in eliminating the visibility of the movement of the operator's finger as the plunger is advanced in the barrel of the syringe for injecting the serum into the muscular tissue. The neat and compact structure thus provided, entirely hides the syringe and its actuation from the vision of the patient and the injection may be made without the slightest discomfort to the patient and even without his knowledge, 'as only a very slight pain such as that of a small cutaneous scratch will be experienced.

In the figures, I have illustrated a container 10 comprising a body portion 11 and a cap 12 which is insertable over the top end of the body'portion to form a closure therefor. The lower end of the body portion 11 is provided with an aperture wherein an adjustable closure member 13 is provided for a purpose which will be explained hereinafter. Within the body portion 11 a syringe engaging portion 14 is supported for movement longitudinally of the body portion for advancing the syringe to have the needle thereof project from the end of the member 13. Suitable mechanism for effecting the movement of the syringe,

for controlling and locking the mechanism will now be described in detail.

The syringe 15 is of the conventional type, being provided with a barrel 16 which, as herein illustrated, is made of glass and providedwith a plurality of indexing lines 17 for gauging the amount of serum which is present within the barrel. A suitable plunger 18 fits snugly within the barrel and is the means by which the serum when employing the extension 39 in this manner,

is forced from the barrel through the hollow syringe needle 19 into the muscular tissue of thepatient.

A spring clip 21 is constructed to extend around the barrel l6 and to encompass more than half of the circumference thereof to constitute clamping fingers 22 for retaining the barrel against movement laterally away from the clip. A block 23 is attached to the clip 21, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4, through which a knob 24, having a threaded stem 25. extends. The threaded stem 25 of the knob is positioned in a slot 27 provided longitudinally of the body portion 11. A guideway 30 is provided in the side of the casing 11 in which the block 23 is recessed for controlling its path of movement. A stop element 28 of rubber or other resilient material is provided at the end of the guideway 30 in the path of movement of the block 23 for the purpose of arresting the movement of the block, the clip 21 and the syringe 15 so as to eliminate the shock of contact which would otherwise occur and which might cause the syringe to break.

On the top portion of the block 23 I provide a stem 29 which is guided in a bearing 31 provided on the inner surface of the body portion 11. A spring 32 encompasses the rod 29 between the bearing 31 and the block, for the'purpose of applying a bias downwardly to the clip 21 and therefore to the syringe 15. A notch 33 is provided on one side of the rod 29, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, which is engaged by a detent 34 for latching the rod in-spring biased position, in which position the clip 21 and the syringe 15 are retrieved to have 'the needle 19 withdrawn to within the body portionll. The detent 34 extends on the outer surface of the body portion 11 and is made of spring material to provide a bias outwardly from the body portion.

A knob 35 is vpositioned on the detent 34 to be engaged by an operators thumb or finger for actuating the detent and releasing the rod 29 to permit the bias of the spring to advance the clip 21 and the syringe 15 within the body portion 11. The end of the rod 29 is provided with a sloping surface 36 which engages the detent 34 to draw it inwardly, as the rod 29 is moved upwardly in the bearing 31, to have the detent move into a position in which it may again engage the notch 33 for retaining the mechanism in retrieved, biased position. To make certain that the syringe 15 moves longitudinally with the clip 21, I have provided an extension 37 on the clip, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5, which engages the enlarged end of the barrel 16 to prevent the barrel from moving longitudinally relative to the clip 21.

The body portion 11 is provided with a semicylindrical extension 38 which projects over the plunger 18 when in withdrawn position, to act as a guard to prevent the stem from being broken and at the same time to hide the thumb of the operator from the vision of the patient so that the injection may be completed without the patient being aware of the operation of the plunger.

The cover 12 for enclosing the projection 38 and the end of the body portion 11 is provided with a spring clip or extending portion 39, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, having an arcuate end portion 41 which extends between the inner surface of the detent 34 and the surface of the cap to prevent the detent from being actuated while the cap is positioned over the body p rtion.

the instrument may be carried without any danger of the mechanism being tripped and have the lance forced from the end thereof and damaged.' As soon as the cap is removed, the detent is rendered effective for tripping the actuating mechanism.

The element '13 for enclosing the aperture in the bottom of the body portion 11 is provided with serrations 42 as illustrated in Fig. 6, by which the end 43 thereof is adjusted relatively to the desired needle extension. It is to be understood that each time the instrument is actuated the lance or needle extends a predetermined distance from the bottom of the body portion 11 and by adjusting the element 13 relative thereto 1 the amount of extension of the needle below the surface 43 is thereby regulated to regulate the depth which the needle will pierce through the muscular tissue against which the surface 43 is placed.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be noted that the interior of the element 13 is hollow and provided with two partitions 44 of rubber or like resilient material between which a packing 46 of cotton, felt or the like is provided. The cotton, or felt material is saturated with alcohol or other substance for sterilizing the needle 19 each time it passes therethrough. When the needle is withdrawn to retrieved position within the casing, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the hole made through the partition 44 will be self sealing and in this manner the needle and the syringe is kept clean and sanitary. The body portion 11 is split on opposite sides, one side of which is provided with a hinge 45 to permit access to the interior of the body portion to facilitate the attachment and removal of the syringe.

The operation of my device will now be described. Assume the instrument to be in carrying position, that is to say, in the position illustrated in Fig. 2, the cover 12 is first removed and the hinge portion, of the body portion 11, is opened and the syringe 15 is removed from the clip 21. The syringe is then filled with serum to a predetermined indexing mark 1'7 and is then assembled on the clip 21 and the hinge portion is then closed. The instrument is then positioned to have the surface 43 of the element 13 placed against the muscular tissue into which the serum is to be injected and the button 35 is pressed to have the detent 34 release the rod 29 and the spring 32 which moves the clip 21, and therefore the syringe l5, downwardly relative to the body portion 11 of the casing.

The downward movement forces the needle 19 through the partitions 44 and the saturated material 46 therebetween to sterilize the needle during its passage therethrough and to force the needle into the muscular tissue to a predetermined depth. The depth is regulated by the element 13 having the serrations 42 thereof positioned relative to the bottom of the body portion 11. The operators finger, shielded by the extension 38 moves the piston 18 into the barrel 16 of the syringe to force the serum through the needle into the muscular tissue. The extension 38 hides the finger of the operator and its movement from the vision of the patient and the entire operation is accomplished without pain or shock to the patient.

The structure has a further utility in being extremely advantageous when it is necessary for a 1,921,034: fit

patient to administer hypodermic medication upon himself as in the case of insulin injections. Owing to the frequent use of insulin, it is necessary for a patient to administer it himself. While, heretofore, the self administered injection was extremely trying and painful, the employment of my above described structure changes the process to one which is extremely exacting and painless and free from the dread and shock which accompanied the self use of the standard syringe.

When I employ the word encompass in the claims, it is to be understood that I refer to the broad meaning of the word, that of surrounding the syringe and not entirely enclosing it on all sides, and applies to the encompassing of the syringe as illustrated in Fig. 3.

While I have described and illustrated but a single embodiment of my invention it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes, omissions, additions and substitutions may be made therein without departing from the scope of by invention as set forth in the accompanyin claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. An enclosing element for a syringe which completely seals it in carrying position, means for advancing the syringe relative to the element to have the needle thereof project therefrom, and means supported by said enclosing element for sterilizing said needle during said advancement.

2. A casing for encompassing a syringe having an opening through which the needle of the syringe may project, a closure for said opening provided with puncturable partitions and sterilizing means between said partitions.

3. A casing for encompassing a syringe having an opening at its lower end and a support therein for a syringe having means for advancing said syringe to have the needle thereof project from said opening, in combination with a puncturable partition enclosing said opening.

4. A member having an opening at its lower end and a support thereon for a syringe, means for actuating said support for projecting the needle of the syringe through said opening, and sterilizing means in said opening through which said needle passes.

NORMAN 0. LA MARCHE. 

